Post 63 dropped by late run in pitcher's duel

By Andrew Wilson / Times-News correspondent

Published: Thursday, May 23, 2013 at 12:36 AM.

Slaughter said: “It just hung up there for a while. He didn’t hit it very far. It was a two-strike swing and he just got it up. It’s not very deep down the lines here but he did what you’re supposed to do with two strikes and he got it out of the park.”

Held to two hits through the first four innings against Post 36 starter Eric Corbett, Burlington-Graham broke through in the fifth with back-to-back extra-base hits from Snipes and Deatherage.

Snipes missed a home run to right field by a few inches as the ball bounded off the top of the wall for a double. Deatherage followed three pitches later with a triple to the left-center gap to cut the lead in half.

“He threw me two balls, then a fastball right down the middle and I just shot it to the gap and got a triple,” Deatherage said. “I knew Dominique had just hit the double off the wall and I knew it would be big for us to get a hit.”

Deatherage scored a few pitches later when Adam Smith doubled down the left-field line.

Corbett and reliever Ryan Smith limited Post 63 to six hits while the trio of Baldwin, Shoe and Evan Friddle held Post 36 to eight hits. Rogers and Deatherage were the only two players to record multiple hits.

“We got what we hoped to get out of a starting pitcher,” Slaughter said. “The guys we brought in didn’t throw bad for us. They just took advantage of one error and that’s what you’re supposed to do.”

A two-strike slap home run that found its way over the right-fence put Kernersville Post 36 on top early in the American Legion baseball game. One errant throw in the top of the ninth cost them the 3-2 final.

“We pitched it well,” Post 63 manager Johnny Slaughter said. “Dallas threw the ball really well. He and the Kernersville kid both threw the ball very well. We just couldn’t find the hit we needed to get a couple runs across and get the win.”

Save the three hits in the first inning and Baldwin had a stellar night on the mound. He went seven innings, giving up six hits and two runs while striking out four. Three of those hits came from three of the first four batters of the game. He didn’t factor into the decision.

Tied going to the ninth, Post 36 got a leadoff bunt single from Jacob Williams between reliever Sam Shoe and the third-base line. An errant pickoff throw from Shoe allowed Williams to move to third with no outs.

“It was a perfect bunt,” Post 63 outfielder Brock Deatherage said. “We tried to make a play but it was perfect. But we knew that was going to be a problem for us. Then we threw it away and that didn’t help our cause. All they had to do was hit it somewhere in the outfield and he was going to score.”

Bump Martin did just that with a sacrifice fly to deep left field to score the run.

A one-out single from John Robertson in the bottom of the ninth gave Post 63 a little bit of hope, but Ryan Hamilton, who came on as a defensive replacement in the eighth inning, grounded into a 6-4-3 double play to end the game.

“We stole one late,” Loflin said. “Those games don’t happen very often. They’re ultra rare. We’re just fortunate to get out of here with a win.”

Shortstop Evan Rogers singled to open the game but was thrown out trying to stretch it into a double. A strong throw from left fielder Dominique Snipes kept the base paths clear of runners but Robbie Harrison immediately followed with his only hit of the game — a single up the middle before Jamison Nagle ran into a full count fastball.

“(Baldwin) kept us off balance all night,” Kernersville manager Chad Loflin said. “Jamison early on just bumped into one, but he kept us off balance all day. Our guys couldn’t get on top of the ball.”

The two-strike swing from Nagle sent the ball high into the air, one that Baldwin thought would produce a lazy flyout to right field. Instead, the ball carried over the short fence in right field.

“It just carried,” Baldwin said. “It’s a short porch. I know I have to come out of the bullpen better but I didn’t think it was gone at all.”

Slaughter said: “It just hung up there for a while. He didn’t hit it very far. It was a two-strike swing and he just got it up. It’s not very deep down the lines here but he did what you’re supposed to do with two strikes and he got it out of the park.”

Held to two hits through the first four innings against Post 36 starter Eric Corbett, Burlington-Graham broke through in the fifth with back-to-back extra-base hits from Snipes and Deatherage.

Snipes missed a home run to right field by a few inches as the ball bounded off the top of the wall for a double. Deatherage followed three pitches later with a triple to the left-center gap to cut the lead in half.

“He threw me two balls, then a fastball right down the middle and I just shot it to the gap and got a triple,” Deatherage said. “I knew Dominique had just hit the double off the wall and I knew it would be big for us to get a hit.”

Deatherage scored a few pitches later when Adam Smith doubled down the left-field line.

Corbett and reliever Ryan Smith limited Post 63 to six hits while the trio of Baldwin, Shoe and Evan Friddle held Post 36 to eight hits. Rogers and Deatherage were the only two players to record multiple hits.

“We got what we hoped to get out of a starting pitcher,” Slaughter said. “The guys we brought in didn’t throw bad for us. They just took advantage of one error and that’s what you’re supposed to do.”